Oh as an add on, I am not catering to one individual. In case you have forgotten non smokers are starting to or already outnumber the smokers. Smokers have made several attempts to to get the laws reversed through petitions and could never quite get enough signatures. I guess they just never cared enough about their own cause to get enough smokers signatures for their petitions. Fought like hell but failed. I am not against full contact fighting. If they want to do that, it’s on them. The insurance company is well aware of what they do and they pay their high premiums. I think it is very unlikely to get banned, too many people like it, just like they like cigarettes and alcohol. It just is not going to happen. YET.
helmet and seatbelt law, hey if it’s your time to go it’s your time to go helmet or not, many people are saved by not wearing their belts and get thrown clear of the wreck, instead of being traped and burned to death.
have a designated are in the bar with proper ventaltion. its that simple i have seen them and they do work. a server shouldn’t have to put up with 8+ hours a day of smoke 5 days a week. i dont know where you live zeb but jobs are hard to find these days.
mdog,
Many states have passed a ban on smoking in the work place and public places, it would be quite easy to find a job in a smoke free environment, as opposed to looking for a job in the one place that should still allow smoking-Taverns!
ru12mvne,
Your logic offends me, where can I get a law passed to prevent you from doing any further damage? No, wait, I could just avoid it huh?
You compare public masturbation to a tradition that has been occurring in public taverns in this country even before the declaration of independence! Your poor logic has caused you to think that government intervention is the answer. You are very wrong!
You claim that “smoking is not a God given right.”
No kidding? I thought it was right up there with free speech. Thanks for turning on the light bulb. When you think about it none of the rights that the politicians have taken away are “God given rights.” At least so far.
Do you think it’s a God given right to watch two highly trained fighters? Is it a God given right to not wear a motorcycle helmet? Is it a God given right to drive down the road without your seat belt? No, I guess none of them are, but that does not mean they are any less important!
With every right that we give up in the name of “safety”, we give up a little of our freedom. According to Thomas Jefferson “the pursuit of happiness” is in fact a right! How many of these freedoms will we lose before we come to the realization that we have lost to many?
If certain places are designated as “smoking”, such as public taverns, then someone who is not interested in smelling smoke can decide not to go there. I am sure that there are many smokers who would like to work in such and environment. Just as there are many who would enjoy visiting such an place.
You may not like sitting next to an obese person in a restaurant either, but does that give the government the right to bring legislation against that person? (That may be next). After all, the sight of a fat person could harm you emotionally, nightmares, flash backs. You could simply avoid that restaurant where you know obese people frequent? Which makes more sense?
Matters not what is attacked in this case. One can make an argument for physical health, as you have. Have you ever been in a club where a loud band is playing? Have your ears been harmed by this? Could have been. Would you like the government to outlaw loud music, or does it make more sense to simply avoid places that have such things? Especially in light of the fact that there are many more choices for the non-smoker than for the smoker.
Your rights stop at the point where you attempt to force your values upon others!
You can stay away from public taverns that allow smoking,(or loud music), as you have an obvious dislike of such things. Just keep in mind that your dislike of that persons freedom does not give you the right to take it away from them!
There are many things that I am fundamentally against. I have been very up front about these things on this forum. However, just because I am not in favor of certain things, does not give me the right to take them away from others who truly enjoy these activities.
In America you should be allowed to choose how you live, even if those things are unsafe. Those who want to be cautious have that right as well. It can be exercised by avoiding dangerous places such as, Steep cliffs, fast cars, and even smoky bars!
It is called freedom!
Yes, it is called freedom. NOW ENJOY THAT FREEDOM TO SMOKE OUTSIDE THE TAVERN.
ru, (you don’t mind if I call you “ru” right?)
That is like saying:
Enjoy that freedom to ride your motorcycle with “your helmet on.”
Enjoy that freedom to watch NHB fighters, “in Japan.”
Enjoy that freedom to drive down the highway “with your seat belt on.”
Any freedom that has been taken away is no freedom at all! Stop relying on the politicians to protect you. And remember this, just because you are personally opposed to smoking, as am I, does not mean that we shouldn’t stand up for smokers rights. If you only stand up for rights that you personally find appropriate, then you are not standing up for freedom at all!
I do stand up for freedom. When it makes sense and is logical to me. In this case it is not logical to me. I fought for my freedom. We all have the right to say our minds. THAT is freedom. Freedom is NOT getting to do whatever the hell you want to do whenever you want to do it because you feel that you should be able to do it. Freedom has boundries and guidelines set forth in the Constitution. We are not totally Free. We are just Free from the ruling of our old country of England. Like I said before if you don’t like what the politicians are doing THEN GET OFF OF YOUR ASS AND CHANGE IT. STOP TALKING AND DO IT. MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN. DON’T BE A TALKER BE A DOER. My question to you is WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT? How many signatures have you gotten signed Zeb to have smoking reinstated at your local tavern Zeb? Seeing as you are so gung ho on defending the smokers rights you should be out there getting people to sign petitions. You should be writting your congressman/woman. You should be very involved in the cause that you believe so much in. So don’t sit behind your computer and type all this bullshit about freedom and this and that unless you are doing something to help the cause you are defending. I have fought for the cause to get smoking in the workplace banned and I was a smoker at the time to top it off. I just was a very considerate smoker. I quit when my children were born so I would not be one of those parents to say, “Smoking is bad for you kids, you should not be like dad.” Kids watch their parents and learn from them. I did not want my kids learning that habit from me. Everyone who smokes knows that what they are doing is unhealthful and a bad habit wheather or not they chose to admit it. HOWEVER it is not a FREEDOM it is A CHOICE. Do you have the right to smoke? YES-UNTIL IT INFRINGES UPON ANOTHERS RIGHT TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR. That is what you are not getting, the smoker is the one causing the infringement whether they want to believe it or not. Whether you want to believe it or not. It is the smoker that has to give because they are the one that is causing the infringement, they are the one creating the offense EVEN IF THE SMOKER MAY NOT FIND IT OFFENSIVE. Everyone has the right to go into a PUBLIC PLACE or WORKPLACE and be in a relatively safe environment. A bar is considered a workplace for some individuals and for you to say only smokers may apply is now discrimination. How about I only hire a certain color or race and we will fire you. I bet you would not fancy that. See people really do not give a shit UNTIL it affects them and THEN they want to bitch, cry, moan and complain. That’s the difference between a recession and a depression. A recession is when your neighbor is out of work a depression is when you’re out of work. The smokers had their chance to fight the ban, they lost. Now get over it. You have the right to smoke-OUTSIDE. Discussion ended.
These senators are just another PATHETIC example of how we live in an increasingly more and more WHIMPY society.
Sorry my post is not as philosophical and ideological as some of the others’.